Summer evenings bring happy childhood memories of my dad and me in the backyard after supper playing one of our favorite games: who could throw the volleyball (fondly named Gus) over the house?
He presented this seemingly monumental and impossible challenge when I was small. I would stand there grasping Gus, tossing him with all my might as high as I could again and again, the ball hitting the house or the gutter and bouncing back down. A few times, with his help, it went partway up the roof before tumbling back to the ground.
I watched in awe as my dad threw the ball high, higher into the sky, up and over the roof. I was amazed, wondering where it went, as it looked like it was gone forever!
This simple illustration came to mind while considering the word casting, bolded in its context here in 1 Peter 5:5-7:
(5) . . . and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
(6) Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time,
(7) casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
This powerful section of Scripture presents the antidote to anxiety: humbling ourselves, trusting in, and casting our cares upon God—because He cares for us!
A study of the word casting reveals how significant it is in ridding ourselves of anxiety. It comes from the Greek epirrhiptó[1], meaning “to throw” or “to cast upon something else”, (e.g. to throw clothes upon an animal for riding, as seen in Luke 19:35, its only other N.T. use).
It also denotes throwing or casting all of something—in this case, a full surrender of all our anxieties to God—not the giving of one at a time. Does Peter say “cast the big burdens, but keep the little ones?”
No! All means all.
Releasing all our anxieties is dependent on humbling ourselves before Him (vs.6)[2]. Therefore:
Casting our anxieties upon God becomes a means by which we humble ourselves.
Pride says, “I’ll do it my way,” and impedes humility toward God. But His care results when we humbly trust in His sovereignty and grace.
Through the keeping of our anxieties comes pride.
In the casting comes humility. From humility flows grace.
We have little control over the circumstances of life. We can’t control the weather or the economy, and we can’t control what other people say about or do to us. There is only one area where we have control–we can rule the kingdom inside. The heart of every problem is the problem in the heart. Once we get to that throne room inside us and let God take over, we don’t have to worry about others [or other things].
Are there anxieties weighing you down today? Our Lord does not want you to carry them alone. Humble yourself before His throne of grace, and cast them on Him—all of them—refusing to take them back.
He does not want you to carry that burden. Find grace and mercy by casting every care on Him . . . you’ll find He cares for you.
Copyright © 2019 Cheryl Elton
TO BE CONTINUED: Part 2 will look at the word “anxiety” in Scripture and exactly what it means.
[2] Casting in verse 7, being a participle, makes it dependent on humbling ourselves in verse 6.
[3] Warren Wiersbe (1929-2019) was a well-known Bible teacher, conference speaker, and prolific writer of theological works.
Hi Cheryl,
Your message is so very timely! Thank you for sharing!
God bless,
Margie
Thanks Margie. Glad it was a blessing to you!
Great sharing! I never connected the refusal to cast our cares on Him with pride. I’m going to look into this more deeply. Thanks for the impetus!
Yes, there is a lot to ponder in those Scriptures. Blessings to you, Carol!
Cheryl – Thanks for a very encouraging message! I like what Warren Wiersbe said about ruling the kingdom inside (in our hearts). If God is ruling in our hearts, He is able to carry away our anxieties when they try to come.
I like Wiersbe’s quote too, and what you said. Thanks for sharing!
Your memory of your dad made me smile! The picture of throwing the ball, trying harder each time, I’m sure, made me picture casting my cares is not always so easy as saying it. Some things are hard, but keep giving my cares to Him for He cares for me! Thanks so much for the encouragement.
I totally agree, Lois! Taking the analogy further, I realize that each summer (after growth and experience) became easier to get the ball higher. So I like what you say about persistence – it can and will get easier to give Him all our cares!